Join Hurstwic in their study and practice of the fighting moves of the
Vikings

Sparring with two weapons

Hurstwic researches, practices, and teaches how Vikings fought and used
their weapons. At our training facility, we seek to learn the fighting
moves of the Vikings.

Sparring sword vs two-handed axe

Developing cutting skills using focus pads

The Hurstwic« Viking Combat Training system is a new approach to
researching and teaching historical martial arts. We use a series of
drills, exercises, and games to teach martial fundamentals to novices,
and then use expanded versions of these exercises to research and build
our knowledge of Viking fighting moves. The work is physically vigorous,
mentally challenging, and fun.

Power cutting drills

Practicing a throw described in the sagas

Throughout, our training is firmly connected to the Viking-age fighting
moves described in the historical sources, such as the Sagas of
Icelanders, and confirmed by other sources, such as forensic evidence
from Viking-age skeletal remains.

Fighting from the ground, as told in the sagas

A pommel bash, used in the Viking age to humiliate

We do not teach stage combat or re-enactment combat, although students
of those arts find that using the Hurstwic training system benefits
their practice of these arts.

We seek to understand and practice the fighting moves used by Viking-age
warriors.

We train regularly three times each week at our Valhalla training
facility in Millbury, MA, USA.

We also hold special training events for
Hurstwic participants in other locations from time to time.

Winter melee sparring on opposite sides of a creek

Running in to grapple drill

New students are accepted by invitation from the instructor. Normally, a
new student would be expected to have completed a Hurstwic
workshop or
other class before joining the regular training sessions, but the
instructor will gladly evaluate a student who thinks he or she has a
sufficient grasp of the fundamentals to join the practice sessions.
Regrettably, we are unable to accommodate drop-in guests or observers.
Contact us for more information.

A missed block and a thrust to the face during sparring

Two-weapon cutting drills with focus pads

Additionally, we hold training events for the general public from time
to time, such as our 2-hour Viking combat
introductory workshop. The next
session is tentatively scheduled for January, 2017. We also offer private
training for groups (for example, as a birthday gift for an individual
and a circle of friends), and Viking combat team-building sessions for
groups, such as from industry or from academia.

If you are too far from central New England to train with us at our home
facility, please consider using the Hurstwic« Viking Combat Training
system with your own club or school by becoming an affiliate of
Hurstwic. If you have no club or school, please consider starting one,
using the Hurstwic system as the basis for your training. More
information is on the Hurstwic affiliate page.

Sparring with mismatched weapons

Hurstwic combat training for a Viking group in Iceland

Alternatively, we can bring a training workshop to your
site, as
we have done for groups in North America and in Iceland in recent years.

Hurstwic combat training for school children in Iceland

In addition, we can bring our combat demonstration or other Viking-age
presentation to your site. We have presented at universities, libraries,
museums, and other cultural institutions in North America, and in Iceland.

To learn more about how Hurstwic came to be, read our story: the
Saga
of Hurstwic.

Recently, Hurstwic studied the effects of
Viking-age weapons on flesh and bone and documented their findings in
the
Viking Weapons Test Cuts video.

From time to time, Hurstwic also offers training in
other Viking-related fields, including Viking handcrafts, and Old Norse,
the language of the Vikings and closely related to the language of the
sagas. The photo shows students at Hurstwic's
Old Norse Boot Camp, an
intensive weekend-long immersion in to the language. Hurstwic's Old
Norse Reading Group meets regularly to read, translate, and discuss the
sagas.

The Hurstwic® Viking Combat Training DVDs are now available from Hurstwic,
LLC, and from Amazon and other vendors. The series now includes 3 DVDs:

We are publishing an irregular
newsletter with short, informative articles on Viking-age topics. We
hope these newsletters will be interesting and useful for anyone with an
interest in the Viking age. They are available as a free pdf download.

Viking Weapons and Combat Techniques is a history of the arms, armor,
and individual fighting strategies of medieval Europe's most feared
warriors. Published by
Westholme Publishing in 2009, the book is
once again
available from your favorite bookseller in paperback. But please be aware that in the years
since the book was written, our research has advanced. Some of the ideas in the
book no longer represent our current thinking about how Vikings fought and used
their weapons.